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Friday, August 8, 2008
Win or lose, does Bama benefit from playing Clemson?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Okay. Everybody’s in camp and we’ve made the first round of our stops around the South. We’ve learned a lot in our travels. But what do we still not know?
1. Win or lose, does Alabama benefit from playing Clemson? Obviously, Alabama wants to beat Clemson in the season opener at the Georgia Dome on Aug. 30. Clemson, the ACC preseason favorite, will be picked to win against the Crimson Tide, which is projected third in the SEC West.
But the benefit from games like this goes far beyond just winning and losing, Alabama coach Nick Saban said when I met with him in Tuscaloosa.
Alabama will put a lot of young players on the field and Saban believes in throwing his rookies into the fire. A full house at the Dome should do the trick.
“We need to establish an identity with this team as soon as possible,” Saban said. “Games like this immediately show your players how much they need to improve or can improve. It also helps you prepare to play the better teams in our league. We will learn a lot about our team very quickly.”
Saban pointed out that when he was at Michigan State the Spartans usually played Notre Dame in the first month of the season.
“It just thought it was a good thing instead of a bad thing because it told us what we needed to do to beat good teams,” Saban said. “Maybe you go 7-4 instead of 8-3 because of it, but if the goal is to be a national program, you have to play games like that.”
Vince Dooley once told me that the benefit to playing a good team early is that when the game is over, you don’t any illusions about your team. Three weeks later Alabama opens the SEC schedule at Arkansas. The Clemson game helps Alabama get ready for the trip to Fayetteville.
2. Who’s going to back up Tim Tebow? On paper sophomore Cameron Newton of College Park and red-shirt freshman John Brantley are competing for the job of No. 2 quarterback behind Tebow, the Heisman Trophy winner. Newton, who is an impressive physical specimen at 6-5, 246, played sparingly as a freshman. The highly recruited Brantley sat out last season as a red-shirt and was limited in the spring due to a shoulder and hand injuries.
But offensive coordinator Dan Mullen told me that he doesn’t plan to pick a No. 2 quarterback anytime soon.
“That’s a long way off. Our mindset is that we need to get three starting quarterbacks ready,” Mullen said. “If they accept that they are the backup their preparation can drop off in a hurry. They need to prepare as if they are the starter. Then we will figure it out as the season gets closer.”
Mullen will have to pick a No. 2 eventually because Florida wants to use Tebow’s backup more often this season to give the Heisman winner some rest. They liked the role Tebow played to Chris Leak during the national championship season in 2006. And the fact is you can’t get three quarterbacks ready to play a game because the 2 and 3 guys cannot get enough reps in practice.
3. How good is that Auburn offensive line?: While Auburn fans are talking about the new spread offense of OC Tony Franklin, offensive line coach Hugh Nall may be fielding his best group ever.
Nall had to start three freshmen last season and he had three red-shirt freshmen in the rotation.
“We took a few lumps but we worked through it and now we’re better for it,” said Nall, a former player at Georgia.
There is some talent here. Sophomore Lee Ziemba started 13 games at right tackle last season and now moves over to left tackle. He has a chance to be a star.
“This is a pretty tough bunch,” said Nall, who is not known for excessive praise. “Now we’ve got a lot of guys we can rotate. I like that.”
Franklin says that in order to run his offense properly the offensive line has to be mentally and physically tough.
“We demand a lot of our linemen. Fortunately we’ve got one of the best offensive line coaches in the country,” Franklin said. “He won’t let them be anything but tough.”
4. Who really needs to step up at Florida State?: That would be safety Myron Rolle. Rolle, the former New Jersey high school defensive player of the year, was one of the nation’s most highly recruited players when he signed with Florida State in 2006. He started as a true freshman in 2006 and played very well. Last season he did not improve as the Florida State secondary, which was supposed to be one of the strengths of the team, was a disappointment. Florida State finished 11th in the ACC in passing defense (245.4 ypg).
Rolle is a brilliant student. He graduated from high school early and entered Florida State in January of 2006. On Saturday he’ll graduate with a 3.75 GPA in exercise science. He plans to attend medical school and is expected to be nominated for a Rhodes Scholarship this fall.
Florida State hopes this will be his breakout season in football.
“Myron is a very good player but he has all of the tools to be a great player,” defensive coordinator Mickey Andrews said. “That is what we expect of him.”
5. How big is the return of Demetrice Morley at UT?: Morley, a junior safety from Miami, had to sit out the entire 2007 season and lost his scholarship because of academic issues. But he was readmitted to Tennessee last January and says he is determined to make the most of his second chance. He will be paired with sophomore Eric Berry to give Tennessee one of the best pairs of safeties in the country.
“I thank coach (Phillip) Fulmer and I thank God for this opportunity,” said Morley, who started 10 games in 2006. “Most people do not get a second chance like this.”
Morley says he is now playing for someone other than himself. He now has a young son, Deion, who turned one not long ago.
“I know now that I’ve got the little man to take care of,” Morley said. “He may not know what is going on but when I look in the stands and he’s there, I’ll know. That’s why I’m playing.”
BONUS QUESTION
What does Florida do without CI? The news is terrible on Florida tight end Cornelius Ingram. A preseason All-SEC pick, Ingram came back as a senior because he wanted to win a championship. Now he is out for the season with a torn ACL in his left knee from a non-contact drill.
Florida has other good tight ends. Sophomore Aaron Hernandez was going to get on the field a lot this season in a two tight end package that Florida was developing. Senior Tate Casey was a star early in his career but missed all of last season because of a couple of elbow surgeries.
Florida will make up for Ingram’s 34 catches from last season. What you don’t know is how this injury will affect the team psychologically. Ingram was one of the primary leaders and one of the most popular guys on the team. This was supposed to be his breakout year.
“I think the fact that he’s not going to play this year, that’s a blow to us because he’s a great player, a great kid,” Coach Urban Meyer said last night after practice. “ (He’s) one of my favorite players of all time.”
The Gainesville Sun is reporting that after Ingram has surgery and finishes his rehab, he will begin getting ready for the NFL Draft.
